


that which is not human

by Sevi (KelSevi)



Category: Phantasy Star II
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelSevi/pseuds/Sevi
Summary: Rolf meets Nei for the first time.





	

The small girl was sobbing; fat globby tears poured down her face, following the contours of her soft, though screwed up, cheeks. Bubbles of snot collected around her nostrils, and through it all she was desperately trying to cover her face and wipe away the fluids her body was unceremoniously dumping.

Rolf, at a loss for words, crouched and sat on his toes to meet her at her level. He knew why she was crying, but he wasn't quite sure what to say. He opened his mouth, then shut it, then reached out cautiously, then hesitated.

He was never really good with other people. After that accident - the space shuttle, the time he lost his parents ten years ago - it was like he had forgotten how to be young. How to act human.

He really wished he could remember how right then and there.

Dropping his hand to his knee, he frowned slightly and furled his eyebrows. The girl looked no older than nine, and she wore a dirty and tattered cape that covered most of her body and hid her neck. Underneath that were clothes several sizes too big for her, and just as worn and ripped to boot. Her hands were cut and rough (wholly unsuited for a child this young, he thought), and on the whole her appearance made her look like she had been living alone in the woods her entire life. If he didn’t know any better, he’d assume that was actually the case.

He kept his eyes trained on her reddened face, taking only momentary glances at her stunning magenta hair. Anything to keep from staring at those horn-like ears protruding far above her head.

“Hey,” he started, in a voice too low to be considered comforting.

The girl blinked through her tears, choked, sniffled, and then kept wailing. Swallowing, he tried again. “Hey… hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now. That Hunter won’t hurt you any more.”

Despite his words, the crying continued. A flare of prickly annoyance picked up in his chest, to which he quickly dispelled with an equal amount of self-control. _She’s just a child,_ he reminded himself. _A child with biomonster parts, but a child nonetheless. A child who was nearly murdered in cold blood by a Hunter…_

_Be gentle with her. Remember what it was like to be a child yourself._

Without a second thought, Rolf covered his face with his hands. Though her constant tears clouded her vision, the girl brushed away yet another wave of liquid sorrow and managed to catch the odd motion. With a hiccup and another snivel, she quieted down momentarily.

That moment was all he needed, for when he pulled his hands away, it was with a surprise. He held his hands palms-forward at the sides of his face and he tilted his head just as he pulled a face - he wasn’t quite sure what kind of face it was, it was pretty spontaneous - right to hers.

He wondered what kind of face he made, because it elicited a shocked expression from the girl, followed by stark silence.

Unsure of how to follow that up, he covered his face again, resumed a straightened crouch, and waited a couple of seconds. Her crying had stopped, aside from the continued hitches in breath. Taking in a breath of his own through his nose, he gave a second face a shot.

Hands palm-side up. Eyes crossed. Tongue out. He knew this would give him a headache later, but it was worth a shot.

“…”

“…”

“... P--pff…”

That seemed to do the trick! Within moments, the girl in front of her was covering her mouth instead of her eyes, and though salty tears continued to prick at the tips she couldn’t help but let a few stray giggles puddle out through the spaces between her fingers.

Rolf stopped crossing his eyes and relaxed with a relieved sigh. “There we go,” he cooed, though his voice remained somewhat monotone despite his best efforts. He thought to stand up, but then considering his intimidating height, remained squatting. “Are you okay now?”

The girl nodded, her hands still firmly pressed against her face, and she turned her head downward as though in thought. Slowly, she moved her hands and wiped away at her eyes and nose, before crudely rubbing her slimy hands off against her cape. Under any other circumstances, Rolf would shudder in revulsion, but for some reason this time it wasn’t a bother.

And then, she spoke. Shakily, but she spoke. Her voice was crackly, and kind of squeaky.

“Th… thank you, mister,” she mumbled, eyes focused on the dusty ground of the road they stood on. (Her eyes were red, he noticed.) “F-for saving me… I was really scared.”

Rolf hummed. “That Hunter had no right to take the life of an innocent little girl. I’m glad I could have helped out.” Then he paused, glanced around him, and then his frown returned. “I don’t suppose you have a family to return to? Since, um…”

He was reluctant to bring up the ears. As though on command, they twitched ( _don’t look at them, don’t alienate her, don’t look at them,_ ) and she met his eyes with her own.

“I… used to. Two different ones… but they’re all gone now.”

In that moment, Rolf swore he could see in her what he himself felt ten years ago. And man, did it hit him where it hurt most. Swallowing again, though this time dryly, he nodded. “I was orphaned myself, when I was about your age. I lost my parents in a shuttle crash.”

Once again, the girl’s ears moved. Her eyes grew large, as though she could start crying again (and Mother Computer _forbid_ she did after he JUST got her to stop) but she did not. “That’s so sad…”

“It’s been a long time; I’m alright now. It gets a bit lonely around the house, though.”

He wondered briefly how anyone else would take that news; given the complacent atmosphere of Paseo, he certainly wouldn’t expect anyone else to approach him and latch onto his hand with a surprising amount of force.

Even so, he could tell what it was she wanted. Giving her a smile, Rolf let her take his hand. “I don’t mind having company, though. Do you want to come home with me? I’m sure it’d be much safer than wandering around Paseo’s outskirts dealing with biomonsters and Hunters.”

A quick bounce of the head was all Rolf needed to know. Finally pushing himself up (though not so fast as to snap his hand away from the small girl’s grasp) he kept his hand in hers and prepared to lead on. But before he could, she tugged his hand, and he glanced back down at her.

“Um… mister? What’s your name?”

Ah, right, names. He reached up and touched the golden headband obscured by his bangs - a family heirloom, and the last reminder he had of his parents - as he spoke, proudly, “Agent Rolf Eusis, at your service… though Rolf will work just fine. How about you?”

“Nei! It means ‘that which is not human’ or something like that. I dunno what that means, but I think the name’s pretty!”

Nei… what a fitting name. Rolf couldn’t help but grin down at her innocence. Questions nagged at the fringes of his mind, but he resolved to put them aside for later. After all, he had all the time in the world to figure out his new friend, and right now he was sure she needed one.

(His only regret would be that he didn’t research her origins sooner. Perhaps then, he might have had a chance to truly save her.)


End file.
